India Legends stormed into the final of the inaugural Road Safety World Series after defeating West Indies Legends by 12 runs at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday.
After put in to bat first, it was India captain and crowd favourite Sachin Tendulkar (65 of 42) who led the way with his stylish half-century. Another opener, Virender Sehwag, played an entertaining cameo – 35 off 17 balls.
Yuvraj Singh continued from where he left and hit six sixes in his 20-ball unbeaten 49.
Chasing 219 to win, the Men in Maroon were restricted to 206/6 in 20 overs.
Defending 24 in the last two overs, Indian seamers R Vinay Kumar and Irfan Pathan bowled their heart out to help the Men in Blue win the match, which was once going in the opposition’s way.
Vinay Kumar first cleaned up Brian Lara (46 off 28) and then removed Tino Best (2) on the last ball of the 18th over, bringing the home team back into the game.
The twin half-centuries from Dwayne Smith (63 off 36) and Narsingh Deonarine (59 off 44) went in vain as West Indies Legends were knocked out of the tournament.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
India Legends reaches the final of Road Safety World Series. What a cracker game, one of the finest performance by both the teams. West Indies Legends pretty much had the game in their bank, but Manpreet Gony and Vinay Kumar's over changed the game. Top class work.#IndiaLegends pic.twitter.com/bdZtrla5r7
— Nishant Sharma (@IamNishantSh) March 18, 2021
Three legends of the West Indies Legends team managed to push the game harder for a win but in vain
Opener Dwayne Smith scored 63 off just 36 with Narsingh scoring a 59 off 44 and the Captain himself Brian Lara smashed 46 off 28❤️😊#roadsafety #Crickbuster #Fiwitallawahs pic.twitter.com/eozr0BntO2
— Jamaica Tallawahs (@JAMTallawahs) March 17, 2021
The GAME CHANGING moment for us!
Whatever the maestro – @sachin_rt said to @Vinay_Kumar_R, it worked! It gave us the important wicket of @BrianLara.
Watch LIVE only on @Colors_Cineplex, #RishteyCineplex and for free on @justvoot. #UnacademyRoadSafetyWorldSeries pic.twitter.com/BgaMguH5BV
— India Legends (@India__Legends) March 17, 2021
#RoadSafetyWorldSeries
So we are in finals 😍
Amazing performance by #IndiaLegends
Hope we will win the trophy. #INDLvsWIL pic.twitter.com/w2BzZBgqk7— Stand With 🇵🇸 (@itsfaizalm) March 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/Priyam_0607_/status/1372259247602298880
Once a LEGEND always a LEGEND ❤🇮🇳#LetsCrackIT #RoadSafetyWorldSeries #INDLvsWIL pic.twitter.com/90FOJeBAEh
— Nitin🇮🇳 (@nitin_quiry) March 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/sawanmishra_/status/1372228313066860544
Vintage YUVRAJ SINGH
Scorecard: https://t.co/ljm1njhWCY#INDLvWIL #RoadSafetyWorldSeries pic.twitter.com/t8jrre4PTB— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) March 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/Rahulraj1207199/status/1372266604679995393
Once a LEGEND always a LEGEND ❤🇮🇳#LetsCrackIT #RoadSafetyWorldSeries #INDLvsWIL pic.twitter.com/OF9IR2wmp4
— IMMU SIDHEART (@ImmuSidhearts) March 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/rutvij02200996/status/1372220764854743041
Once a king, always a king 👑 @YUVSTRONG12 🔥#INDLvsWIL pic.twitter.com/a6qLxCMdT1
— Prabha (@interestpoindhi) March 17, 2021
6️⃣ 6️⃣6️⃣ 0️⃣ 6️⃣ 0️⃣ That's Yuvraj Singh for You.😍😍❤❤#YuvrajSingh#sixerking #INDLvsWIL pic.twitter.com/TPUC7AKJnP
— Himalay Prajapati 🇮🇳 (@h_i_m_a_l_a_y) March 17, 2021
Congratulations Indian Legends for winning Semi finals 🥳🥳🥳
Sachin , sehwag , Yuvi , Yusuf where outstanding 🔥🔥🔥#IndiaLegends #INDLvsWIL #RoadSafetyWorldSeries2021 pic.twitter.com/6lUHymTo5r— सिंह साहब🇮🇳 (@mrsinghsahab194) March 17, 2021
What a match 🔥 Nail-biting end for the match and India legends qualify for the final 🇮🇳🏏#Semifinal#INDLvsWIL #ColorsCineplex #RoadSafetyWorldSeries pic.twitter.com/AmRcFe6EAR
— Lahiru Rupasinghe (@LahiruRupasing7) March 17, 2021
Sri Lanka Legends will take on South Africa Legends on Match 18 in the second semi-final of the tournament.